WEBVTT THE HOTLINE AT THE GRASSROOTSONE OF THE ISSUES THEY ADDRESS>> RIGHT NOW THE BIGGEST THINGGET FOLKS CONNECTED TO DIFFERENT>> GRASSROOTS RECENTLY PARTNERED7 DAYS A WEEK FOR ANYONE WHO>> WE ARE DISSEMINATINGCURRENTLY, IT’S THE ONE PLACE>> AND HOWARD COUNTY IS PART OFBUT FATAL OVERDOSES ARE ABOUT>> WE ARE SEEING FORTUNATELYFATAL CASES AND MORE CASES WHERE>> OFFICIALS SAY THE GOAL THENTHE FOLKS AT GRASSROOTS SAYTHEY’RE READY TO WELCOME ANYONE>> FOLKS CAN COME IN AND GET AINTERVIEWING WITH THEM GETTING HOWARD COUNTY POLICE SAY

Maryland has had its fair share of problems with opioid misuse. In Howard County, overdoses are up 50 percent from last year.

The hotline at the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Center in Columbia is never quiet for long. One of the issues they address is people with substance misuse disorder.

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"Right now, the biggest thing is access to treatment and access to different supports, and so we're hoping that with us being kind of a central hub for that kind of thing, that we can get folks connected to different resources in the community," said Katie Dant, assistant director of the intervention center.

Grassroots recently partnered with the Howard County Health Department to provide walk-in assessment and help seven days a week for anyone who needs it.

"We are disseminating information about the program all over the county to get the word out. Currently it's the one place people can go outside the hospital to get immediate screening for substance use disorders in the county," said Antigone Vickery, deputy health officer of Howard County.

While overdoses have gone up 50 percent in the county, fatal overdoses are about the same.

"We are seeing, fortunately, that more and more we can save people using narcan, which does bring them back if it appears they're overdosing, and that's why we're seeing, we think, fewer fatal cases and more cases where we're able to save the person's life," said Sherry Llewellyn, of the Howard County Police Department.

Officials said the goal then becomes getting people into treatment. The workers at Grassroots said that is the key to curbing the opioid epidemic. They're ready to welcome anyone, any day of the week from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

"Folks can come in and get a full substance usage assessment, and then get connected to treatment options if they're not ready to get into treatment. We'll help do some emotional interviewing with them, getting them ready for treatment and then supporting them through the treatment process by connecting them with additional supports throughout the community," Dant said.